Let No Enemy Put Asunder
by HonoluluGal
Summary: A past comes back to haunt with a guilt that may now be too overwhelming to conquer
1. Chapter 1

**_I'm back with my second fan fic. This story was a challenge to write in the sense that there were lots more details to iron out in trying to work something that is worthy of posting._**

**_I sure hope you'll enjoy. It's still Steve and Danny-centric and set somewhere in season 2.  
_**

It was late in the evening. Steve was still sitting at his desk cudgeling his brains to find a possible connection between two bank heists that had left three innocent people dead. Kono, Chin and Danny had already gone home but he remained behind, obsessed by this tiny clue that could solve this case.

He sighed and rubbed the strain out of his eyes. He stood from the desk and went to refresh his glass of water at the cooler. The office cleaning ladies were nearly done their job for the night and were starting to pack up their supplies.

"Commander McGarrett, you are working late tonight," one maid observed.

"Yeah, it's been one of those days," he said through a yawn. "Sorry."

"You should call it a day. You might find what you're looking for in the morning after a goodnight sleep."

Steve fashioned a weary smile at the wise words. "You might be right." He glanced down at his wristwatch showing eight thirty-five. "I'll follow your advice and wrap up."

"Goodnight sir."

"Goodnight."

Steve watched the three ladies exit the briefing room before returning to his desk. He stared at the PC screen, hoping the answer would finally pop up at him. He then huffed out in frustration and shut off his laptop.

He was ready to leave when maintenance men in uniforms showed up with their equipments.

"Huh, excuse me," Steve hailed the three men who were dismissing his presence to go about their business. "May I help you?"

"No. That's all right. We're here to clean the vent shafts," said one of them.

Steve frowned in suspicion. "You have an authorization?"

The man produced a piece of paper from one of his breast pockets and handed it over to Steve. "Here you go, sir. It was signed by the governor himself."

Steve studied the document that, at first glance, appeared to have been drawn up in due form and he recognized Denning's signature. "Could you just wait here for a second?"

The men shrugged and nodded.

Steve went to his office and dialed Denning's number. "Governor Denning? This is Steve McGarrett. I'm sorry to disturb you so late sir but I have three men at the Palace who say they're here to clean the air ducts. I have the paper in my hand with your signature but I just wanted to confirm that you indeed authorized it?"

"Yes I did, Commander. I'm sorry for not advising you. I guess it slipped my mind. It's something that we do once a year."

"Funny but I've never seen them before."

"It's probably because you were never at the office that late in the evening. By the way, what are you still doing over there at this hour?"

"We've hit a brick wall in our investigation in the Yuri case and – well – I thought that with peace and quiet I could find the missing link."

"And?"

"Nothing. My brain is oatmeal. I'm done for the day."

"Good. Get some sleep. You'll see better in the morning."

"Yeah. Goodnight sir."

"Goodnight Commander."

Steve hung up and headed out of his office to give the slip back to the man in charge. "Okay. You're clear. I'll leave you to your chore. Goodnight."

"Goodnight sir."

**H50H50H50H50H50H50H50H50H50H50H50H50H50H50**

The next morning, the team met at HQ to discuss their latest brainstorming. None had good news to report, save perhaps for Danny who arrived wearing a broad smug grin.

"What are you grinning about?" Steve asked, a bit annoyed by his partner's smirk.

"I hereby announce that I have found the missing link," Danny boasted.

"Really? How d'you do it?"

"Well unlike a certain smart-alec partner of mine," Steve was seen turning his tongue inside his cheek and looking upward in annoyance, "I finished work at a decent hour. I went to my crummy, yet cozy tiny apartment where I settled on the couch with a cold beer and a great alien movie."

"Not that dude giving birth again?" Steve bellyached.

"Yes , that dude giving birth. It's a classic. Then it came to me."

"All right Einstein, care to share your theory with us?"

"Yuri's brother."

"Danny, we've already established that Guido was in Spain at the time of the heists," Steve argued.

"Nah not Guido, Kale."

"He's fourteen!"

"And skinny enough to have crawled inside the vent shaft to get inside the room."

Kono turned to Steve. "It's worth looking into."

"Wait a minute." Steve held out his hand. "Do you guys smell that?" he asked as his nostrils were suddenly assaulted by a sharp, suffocating odor.

Suddenly, Lori collapsed onto the floor shortly followed by Kono and then Chin. Steve tried to prevent Danny's fall by grabbing a hold of his arm, but only managed to sink to his knees along with his partner's dead weight. Realizing what was happening, Steve held his breath and quickly pulled out his iPhone from his cargo pants but as he was about to dial 911, he started to cough. As he sucked in a much-needed breath he was instantly overcome by the toxic vapors that constricted his throat and soon after, he fell unconscious on top of Danny.

Outside in the parking lot, a man dressed in a business suit waited patiently in his car for the signal to go in. Once he saw the two policemen positioning themselves on either side of the Palace main entrance, he exited his car and walked casually toward the entrance.

"The gear's inside by the door, boss," said one of the two pseudo cops in a nonchalant manner.

"Thanks. Are the others inside?"

"Yes. They're waiting for you."

"Good. Don't let anybody in. If anyone asks, there's a fire drill."

"Got it."

The man sucked in a deep breath before stepping inside the building where he donned his gas mask, after which he made his way to the Five-0 briefing room.

"Quickly, get busy. We don't have much time," he ordered. While each of his four accomplices settled to the task at hand, he went to McGarrett's office and looked around, searching for nothing in particular. He sat behind his desk and pried open each of the locked drawers.

He frowned at a picture of the lieutenant commander posing with Navy comrades. He pulled it out of the drawer and stared at it. His eyes narrowed in contempt and in a fit of rage, he smashed the framed picture against the corner of the desk before tramping out of the office.

"You got the loot?" he asked eagerly.

"It's safely tucked inside the van," replied one of his henchmen.

"Ok, let's get out of here."

They came to the back door and stepped outside. They removed their masks and scanned the area for any prying eyes as they made their way to the awaiting van. As for the leader, he removed his mask near the door and casually exited through the main entrance. The two guards followed him to his car.

"What about the surveillance cameras?" asked one of the phony cops who took a seat behind the wheel.

"They're all in close-circuit. The boys did a good job last night. There won't be any trace of us ever been here."

Barely sixty seconds after they'd driven away, an explosion occurred inside the Palace.


	2. Chapter 2

_**I am utterly grateful for all your reviews/fav/follows to my story.**_

_**This chapter has a character's death in it, but not one of the main four.  
**_

_**H50H50H50H50H50H50**_

It wasn't long before fire trucks and police cars converged on the scene of the blast. For their own protection, curious onlookers were advised to remain behind the cordoned off area as the fire raged on. Firemen were having a tough time containing the flames and until it was deemed safe to go in and sift through the rubbles for survivors, Duke and his men busied themselves gathering eyewitnesses' accounts. No one reported seeing anything or anyone unusual minutes before the explosion nor did they smell a potential gas leak. Firefighters nevertheless scoured the area with detectors.

Governor Denning arrived on the scene minutes after being notified of the explosion. He called on the Special Weapons and Tactics squad to investigate the cause of the blast.

"There are no reports of a gas leak," informed the SWAT team leader to Duke and Denning. "Safe to assume an explosive device was set off somewhere in the building."

"If that's the case, how could anyone have had access inside with the equipment without security knowing about it?" There are guards at their posts twenty-four-seven," Duke argued the conjecture.

"Hopefully we'll find survivors that can provide us with clues as to what happened."

"Do you think anyone could have survived that blast?" Duke asked with a distinct pessimism.

"If there are pockets of air underneath the debris, chances are good."

**_H__50H50H50H50H50H50H50H50H50H50_**

Hours lingered on until late morning when firefighters deemed the remaining structure safe for rescue teams to begin rummaging for bodies and hopefully, survivors. Only plumes of dim smoke were seen billowing from the drenched rubbles as the men and women settle to their painstaking task.

"Hey! I've found one!" shouted one member of the rescue team. SWAT team leader and Duke strode over debris strewing the floor to go help remove the hindering concrete slabs, twisted metals and charred wood from the maimed body.

"Who is it?" Duke asked with a dreaded fear of the victim's identity.

"It's a woman," the man said, taking her pulse at the wrist as his colleagues finished clearing the spot when she laid. He shook his head dejectedly. "I'm sorry, she's dead."

The SWAT leader turned to Duke. "You know her?"

"Yeah, that's Lori Weston. She worked with Five-0. If she's here then chances are the rest of the team was with her. Come on, let's dig deeper," Duke pressed on.

"Found another one," cried a second member of the rescue team. "This one's alive."

Duke hurried over to identify the survivor. "It's Lieutenant Kelly. Quick! Let's get him out. Easy. Be careful not to jostle his head and neck."

They gingerly extricated Chin's mangled bloodied body from underneath the rubble and delicately set him down on a portable stretcher where two paramedics set to work on giving him oxygen, inserting an IV line and checking his vitals.

"How is he?" Duke asked worriedly.

"Respiration extremely shallow and the pulse is thready." One medic gently pressed against Chin's abdomen. "Distended abdomen. He has internal bleeding and a serious concussion on the side of the head."

"Will he make it?"

"Depends on other life-threatening injuries that he might have," the EMT said as he applied a piece of gauze against the head wound to stem the bleeding.

"We found another one!" shouted another rescue worker. "It's a woman."

"It's Kono. Is she alive?" Duke asked while helping remove the hindering debris off and around her twisted body lying at a crooked angle.

"I don't have a pulse." Albeit contraindicated to move a critically injured person, the medics however had no choice but to gently roll her onto her back for one of them to quickly apply CPR, while his teammate maintained manual in-line stabilization of the head and the neck.

Following a tense three minutes of manual cardiac resuscitation and shocks with the portable defibrillator, Kono's heart started beating. "We got her back. Barely. Quick, let's get her on that stretcher," he urged on.

They carefully pulled her out of her death trap and strove to keep her alive.

"McGarrett and Williams have to be under there somewhere."

The workers toiled away, working against the clock to find other survivors beneath the pile of smoldering rubble. Nearly ten minutes later, Steve and Danny were still nowhere to be found.

"Keep digging. They've got to be here somewhere," Duke egged on with a feeling of doom and gloom growing in the pit of his stomach.

"Chief Lukela!" a young member of the rescue team called as he strode his way up to Duke. "I've found this."

"It's McGarrett's phone. He's under there. He's got to be."

The governor stepped up to Duke. "Chief Lukela, I'm going to go with the medical examiner seeing how Agent Weston's was my responsibility. You call me when you find McGarrett and Williams."

"Sure will."

Denning made his way out to his car and settled in the back seat, He took a moment to steel himself before setting his eyes on the body bag containing Lori's corpse being wheeled out of the ruins and pushed in the back of the coroner's hearse.

"Let's follow that hearse," he instructed to his chauffeur.

**_H50H50H50H50H50H50H50H50H50H50_**

"All right, I've kept my end of the bargain. Now will you release my daughter?" cried the man over the phone.

"She will be returned to you once we are safely off the island," assured the grave voice on the other end.

"I want to speak to her."

"At the moment she's not with me."

"How do I know she's still alive?"

"Now why would I kill her?" it taunted with malicious undertones.

"You killed innocent people back there. Our deal was for you to access classified documents nothing more. I even gave you the combination of the safe so it would be easy and you wouldn't have had to sacrifice human lives."

"Let's just say I like to clean up after myself. Besides papers were not what I came here for."

"Then what?"

"None of your business. Now I advise you to ever forget we spoke or I'll make certain your name is involved with this and you'll be prosecuted. Understood?"

"Understood." The man resentfully agreed before hanging up with a trembling hand. He cursed his fate that dealt him a bad hand and feared that it would be a matter of time before police would put the pieces together and come knock on his door to arrest him. However he had no choice seeing how this man abducted and threatened to kill his innocent little daughter if he didn't comply with the demands.

_**H50H50H50H50H50H50H50H50H50H50**_

Later that day at HPD precinct, an officer walked over to Chief Lukela's office. He knocked on the door frame. "Chief?"

"Tannen, tell me you have something for me?" Duke asked from behind his desk. He was desperate for clues to find Steve and Danny.

"No luck with the surveillance cameras. They were all destroyed in the explosion as well as the recordings of the past three days."

"Damn," Duke cursed his bad luck.

"However we were able to speak to the watchman who survived." He handed him over a folder and waited for Duke to flip open the file before continuing, "He got a glimpse of one man who entered the building shortly after he was overcome by a pungent gas. Says he was dazed and near passing out, but he clearly saw the face before the guy wore his gas mask."

"Gas mask?"

"Apparently everyone in the building was rendered unconscious before the blast occurred, clearly to keep them from underfoot when they took whatever it is they needed. The forensic lab will soon have the results of the autopsies and hopefully we'll know what type of gas they used."

Duke gave the file a quick glance.

"We did a facial recognition with the artist sketch the guard gave us. His name is Jacquie Montez. He's the primary suspect in a string of murders of Navy officers."

"Navy officers?" Duke exclaimed.

"They were all jurors on his half-brother's murder trial. That's all the information we have so far."

"Look into that, will you? See if there's a possible connection with McGarrett and Williams for that matter. He's not Navy."

"I'm on it."

"By the way, did you by any chance get the checklist of all authorizations into the building for the past week?"

"I've asked the Palace security to look into it. They'll send me the scans once the list is complete."

"Good. I want to narrow down the suspects who might have rigged that bomb. In the meantime I'll get in touch with Joe White. Perhaps he can shed some light on this case.

**_H50H50H50H50H50H50H50H50H50H50_**

Late in the evening, Duke dropped by the hospital hoping to speak to either Chin or Kono about the tragedy. The final toll at the Palace stood at nine deaths with three survivors: Chin, Kono and a security guard. And of course, two unaccounted for.

Duke waited on tenterhooks at the nurses' station for a doctor to finally fill him in on his friends' conditions.

"Chief Lukela?" the doctor called out as he made his way to the station.

"Yeah, that's me."

"I'm Doctor Russell. I was the attending physician when Lieutenant Kelly and Officer Kalakaua were brought in." He held out his hand to shake Duke's.

"How are they?"

"Lieutenant Kelly suffered a laceration of the spleen but luckily we only had to perform a partial splenectomy. He has a concussion on the back of the head, but it's not too deep. He also has a broken collarbone and three fractured ribs. One came dangerously close to puncturing a lung but it could have been worse given what he survived. Also he inhaled what we believe was hydrochloric acid. His lungs are a concerned but the damage appears limited, probably due to a short exposure to the gas. Right now he's resting in a stable condition. We'll be monitoring his vitals throughout the night."

"And Officer Kalakaua?"

"Her condition is critical. She had a subarachnoid hemorrhage but she was admitted just in time for us to relieve the pressure before it did any serious damage to her brain. Right now we have her in a drug-induced coma to reduce the swelling and help with the healing. She also has a fractured arm and tibia and a few cracked ribs. And of course, her lungs are also a concern as a result of the same exposure to the acidic vapors. Fortunately there was no internal bleeding, other than the brain hemorrhage. I say it's a miracle both of them survived."

"Is Lieutenant Kelly awake? It's important that I talk to him."

"I would much prefer you wait a while. He's resting right now and I don't want -"

"Please, just for a few seconds. It's real important," Duke insisted.

The doctor pursed his lips and nodded reluctantly. "Okay. I will allow it for five minutes. I mean it Chief. Five minutes. No more," the doctor warned sternly.

"Got it."

The doctor led Duke down to Chin's dim-lit room. "Try not to tire him. Only ask the urgent questions. Nothing more."

"Understood Doctor." Duke padded up to Chin's bed. He swallowed hard at the ghastly sight staring back at him. Chin's head was swathed in bandages and his face was covered with sutured gashes covered with gauze. He placed his hands on the rail and leaned over the patient.

"Chin, Chin can you hear me? It's Duke."

"Duke?" Chin slurred hoarsely with eyes fluttering to open.

"Yeah. You're all right, son. You're safe."

"Whhhhhat happennnnnn?" he breathed out in a faint croaking voice barely above a whisper.

"There was an explosion at the Palace."

Chin frowned at the news. "Allllll I remember is - is feeeeeeeling sick then it - it all went – went black."

"Yeah. They used hydrochloric acid to knock everybody out."

Chin raised his eyebrows. "How - how -"

"Kono is okay. She got banged up pretty badly but the doctor says she's going to be fine," Duke flinched at the white lie but he didn't want to add anguish to Chin's delicate condition. "Lori however didn't make it."

"Stev - Steve and Danny?"

"Were they with you?"

Chin nodded weakly, "Yes."

"Are you sure?"

"Yesssss, I'm sure," Chin heaved out a bit annoyed by the question. "We were - we were discussing a casssse."

"We only found Steve's iPhone."

"They were with us," Chin insisted. His breathing was growing labored with a sheen of sweat beading on his forehead.

"I'm sorry. I must insist you leave now," the doctor advised.

"All right, Doctor."

"Duke," Chin drew in a last painful breath to utter the name. He then opened his eyes at a slit and gulped, "Find them."

"We will, Chin. Don't you worry. I have my men of the case. You just rest now and don't fret about nothing."


	3. Chapter 3

**_This next chapter _****__****_might answer some of your questions, not all of it for now. It's_** a bit of a revamp of the North Korea episode with a new enemy and purpose. 

**_This is my dark side showing. Some coarse language. Read at your own risk._**

**_H50H50H50H50H50H50H50_**

He awoke the next morning, bound hand and feet in shackles and rusty chains, his back flattened against the cold concrete wall. Late yesterday, he was given front row seat to a horrific round of torture that spurred him to yank at his chains with clenched fists and teeth set in fury. He knew it was futile to try to loosen his bonds but the horror that he was witnessing made him pull even harder until his wrists and ankles were raw flesh burning with a scorching pain.

It might have been a few hours since the atrocious show ended but the nauseating memory of it still lingered in his mind. The extreme heat was suffocating and his aching body was in dire need of water. Every dry swallow was agony going down his raw throat and his lungs felt as though he had inhaled hot coals. Darkness surrounded him, save for a glimmer of light that shone from an overhead bulb. He began hyperventilating as he suddenly felt the walls closing in on him.

Once he regained a bit of self-control, his eyes started roaming around the room. He squinted to adjust his focus on the shadowy form dangling from a hook like a vulgar piece of meat. His feet inches from the floor but bound in shackles. He kept his numb gaze fastened on the bruised and battered muscular frame of his unconscious partner, taking inventory of his numerous injuries inflicted by the three thugs earlier on. For a brief moment Danny feared the worse, that is until a grunt echoed in the small cell followed by a deep hacking cough.

"Hey Steve!" Danny called out in a husky voice. "Steve!"

His head bobbed to the side and leaned heavily against the arm as he attempted to catch his breath. No sooner had he tried prying his eyes open that a stabbing pain assaulted his senses. Every fiber of his being cried out in agony. He clamped his eyes shut and hissed through clenched teeth, which triggered an excruciating coughing bout that exacerbated his injuries.

"Steve," Danny tried once more to goad his partner back to full awareness, though seeing him suffering in the throes of pain, much preferred that he'd remained unconscious.

"Dannnny?" Steve rasped out. He slowly peeled his eyelids apart and searched for his partner in the dark room. "Danny? Where are you?"

"Look to your right."

Steve's head lolled to the right and landed heavily on his right arm. He attempted to focus on the figure chained to a wall. He blinked repeatedly to clear the haze to get a clear picture. "Danny, you okay?"

"A little stiff. You?"

Steve's lips curled up at his partner's weak attempt at humor but responded with his own joke. "Fresh as a daisy."

"Yeah? Well I'd say they plucked a few of your petals there, my friend. And I don't think they were playing he loves me, he loves me not. Do you know these people?"

Steve inhaled a painful breath and licked his parched lips before answering," No but it's safe to say they know me."

"They sure have it in for you. They made me watch as they did a number on you."

"Sorry you had to see this."

"They didn't ask any questions. They just kept pounding at you."

"They obviously want - they want me weak and unable," he gasped in a breath, "unable to defend myself." He ended on a painful cough.

At that moment the iron door creaked open and in came three shadowy figures. Steve squinted against the bright light shining from behind the three men. One stood in front and approached him.

"Well, if it isn't the famous Lieutenant Commander Steven McGarrett," he sneered with a heinous grin.

"Who are you?" Steve asked totally baffled by the identity of the man standing imposingly before him.

"The name is Montez. Jacquie Montez." Steve frowned at the name that wouldn't register. "Lieutenant José Garcia's half-brother?" Steve's reaction was instantaneous. "Yes I can see that Operation Caterpillar is coming back to you."

"Caterpillar," Danny whispered to himself with a quizzical look on his face. He never heard Steve speak of that name. Then again that must have been another one of those classified missions he was always so tight-lipped about.

"What do you want?" Steve swallowed nervously. A shivering fear crept up his spine at the name that brought back an onslaught of hellish memories.

"The truth, McGarrett. About what truly happened that day. José never ceased to clamor his innocence even on his death bed last month." He took one stride up to Steve to stand inches from his face and snarled with teeth set. "He told me it was you." Montez angrily punched him in the face and shouted. "WASN'T IT?" Steve sucked in a deep breath and shook his head in denial. "Yes it was, ADMIT IT!" Montez rammed his fist into Steve's stomach.

"Lieutenant José Garcia, the pride of the American Navy was wrongfully accused of murdering one of his comrades in arms on your testimony. He swore that he couldn't have killed him on account that he'd been knockout by a nerve gas. And yet you had him court-martialed," he accused with a scorching glare.

"I told the truth," Steve wheezed out. "It was your brother who killed him."

"LIAR!" That statement earned Steve a smack cross the face and a heavy wallop to the chest which made hack out his searing lungs and spit blood. In his corner Danny watched helpless, agonizing over every blow delivered to his friend's already maimed body.

"YOU McGarrett, you killed that Lieutenant in cold blood and laid the blame on my brother. And that judge advocate general readily believed you because it would have seriously tarnished the Navy if their most decorated golden boy had been knocked down his shiny pedestal," he vituperated with a dripping hatred of the man hanging defenseless and vulnerable before him. "Found the picture in your desk drawer of you posing with you Navy buddies; a man you killed and the other you had court-martialed. Why d'you keep it, huh? To gloat over it? Or to remind you what a murderous scumbag you are?"

Steve closed his eyes and licked his bloody lip as he strove to regain his bearing.

"Because of your bogus testimony they sent José rotting in jail. I spent the last three years tracking down every single one of those sons of bitches on that jury stand. I got them all. Now it's down to you and that judge. You're gonna spill your guts even if I have to reach down and rip them out myself." He strode up to Steve with nostrils flaring and eyes narrowed in scorn. "I want that confession McGarrett so I can give it to the Navy Review board and have them clear my brother's name."

"Why? If he's dead," Danny chimed in.

"YOU SHUT UP!"

"Even if I were to say I did, which I won't give you the satisfaction of doing," Steve snarled dryly, "I can deny everything, stating that you pried that false confession under torture."

"A dead man cannot speak for himself," Montez taunted.

"If you intend to kill me, then why bother?" Steve derided icily.

"I can either make it quick and painless or a slow and agonizing death like my brother. I have the means to make it happen, McGarrett."

Steve just stared coldly into the man's eyes.

He turned to Danny. "And I'll make your partner here watch before I kill him too."

Steve's heart leapt into his throat and his jaw clenched at the mere thought of his innocent partner suffering at the hand of a vengeful foe. "Let him go," Steve begged for Danny's life. "Your business is with me, not him."

"True, but I like an audience. I studied you and your partner for quite a while now. I know you'd be willing to take a bullet for him and vice-versa. He has the cutest little daughter I ever saw." Speaking about Grace made the two men fly into a rage. "It would be a shame if anything happened to her daddy on account of you. Would she ever forgive her uncle Steve for having her Danno killed, huh? That's the only reason I brought him along."

By this time Steve was angrily huffing and puffing like a wild dragon.

"Ready to spill it, McGarrett?" Montez held up his cell phone. "I'm ready to record everything."

"I'm not admitting anything," Steve maintained with a level stare.

"YOU WILL!" Montez hurled and thrust his hand at Steve's throat."I should kill you right here and now," he gnarled with a steely glare while squeezing his victim's throat, choking him. Steve gagged for air with his mouth wide open as black dots began dancing in front of his eyes. "But unfortunately I need an admission of guilt from you before I do. And you're going to give it to me or your partner here," he turned to Danny, "will die before you do." Montez released the pressure just as Steve's eyes began rolling back in his head from oxygen deprivation. Montez grinned malevolently and drew a sickening pleasure in watching the man before him gasping for air.

"I want them to reopen the file and clear my brother of any wrong doing and instead, incriminate another dead man. You."

Steve shook his head. "It won't happen because I didn't do it."

"Well if you and my brother both didn't shoot that man, someone else must have," he said sardonically. He then turned to Steve with a dubious frown. "You wouldn't be protecting the real killer, now would you?"

"Your brother was ill. He was suffering from - from PTSD," Steve explained in a frantic pant to suck in air. "He murdered innocent civilians before turning against his own." Exhaustion was slowly consuming him and would have gladly succumbed if not for Danny. He ran his raspy tongue across his bloody lip and swallowed hard against the bile rising to his throat.

"LIAR!" Montez raged, ramming his fist into Steve's stomach, making him cough and choke. He then raised his fist to smack him across the face. His head jerked backward with blood spurting out of his broken nose. He turned back to Montez with blazing eyes. He had no intention of giving his archrival the satisfaction of losing countenance.

"Perhaps my men here can loosen your tongue?" He beckoned two thugs over.

Steve braced himself for the inevitable beating. Danny cringed as each punch elicited oomphs and yelps of pain out of his partner. Following an excruciating minute of torture, Montez ordered his men to stop.

"Had enough, McGarrett?"

Steve's head sagged from near collapse. He suspected that a broken rib had nicked a lung when he labored to draw in a single breath. Although each intake of air was scorching his lungs like hot embers he nevertheless mentally conditioned himself to maintain his composure in the face of adversity. He lifted his head up to glare at his archenemy square in the white of the eyes, hissing through gritted teeth in a vain attempt to dull the pain.

"You are a stubborn bastard I'll give you that. They trained you well." Montez turned to Danny. "But I expect your partner here is not a tough as you are. He might break more easily."

Steve lost all the countenance he had managed to muster at the threat against Danny. "Don't touch him! He doesn't know anything."

"Perhaps but you watching my men remodel his body might convince you to be a bit more talkative." Montez relished the expression of horror on McGarrett's face as he ordered his thugs to walk over to Danny.

Steve twisted his body and yanked at his chains. "Don't you dare!" he hurled with a burning rage simmering deep within every cell in his aching body.

"Well now, that's entirely up to you." He held up his cell phone. "I can tape your confession right here and now."

"I swear I didn't kill him."

Montez nodded to his hoods to begin the thrashing.

"No!" Again Steve pulled at his chains in anger and fear as he witnessed the sound of flesh against flesh and the cries of agony echoing in the moldy dark cell, which tore at his heart. Tried as he did he could not wrench himself free of his shackles and only succeeded in tearing at the raw flesh. "You sonnavabitch! I swear I'll kill you." Steve yelled at the top of his lungs that screamed in agony. He coughed and gagged as the men continued to beat Danny senseless. He felt powerless in stopping the carnage.

"You're in no position to hurl threats at me, McGarrett."

One thug delivered one last blow to Danny's face that sent him into oblivion. Montez approached the insentient blond and shook his head. "I was right. He's not as tough as you are, McGarrett. It doesn't take much for him to keel over."

He walked back to Steve who stuck out an defiant chin."You've seen enough? Ready to talk?" Panting and wheezing were his only answer. "I'll leave you alone to find your voice and then I'll come back for your admission of guilt." He marched up to Steve to stand inches from his face and snarled his threat, "You had better have something for me or next time, my men won't be so gentle with your partner."

On this caustic statement, Montez turned and left with his two guards. Once the door shut closed, Steve turned to a battered Danny unconsciously slumped against the wall.

"Danny," Steve croaked through his parched throat which elicited a raspy cough. He gasped in a painful breath and swallowed hard down his dry airway that triggered yet another debilitating cough. His heavy head slumped to the side and rested on his arm while he tried to get his breathing under control. "Dannnny," he risked another desperate plea to rouse his partner but to no avail.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry," Steve wailed. The physical torture he could handle, but the mental persecution of his partner, his brother, having to go through hell on account of him was beyond what he could withstand. Seconds later he surrendered to the beckoning darkness.


	4. Chapter 4

**_Sorry about the fright there guys but you'd been forewarned. I guess it's my liking this North Korea episode too much that messed up my mind big time. I was eager to see a bit more whump on the show and that prompted me to unleash my dark side._**

**_I promise that you will eventually see some relief - just._**

**_Thank you for your reviews and I did correct a few details I had overlooked and that you nicely pointed out. Thanks for that._**

**_H50H50H50H50H50H50H50H50H50H50_**

Barely fifteen minutes later, Steve jerked out of sleep with a hacking cough that drained him of the ounce of energy that the brief spell of slumber had managed to replete. He toiled to get his mind to curl up around the pain and stifle it. He was painstakingly striving to even out his breathing when he heard a moan.

"Danny!" he called out. His face twisted and he squished his eyes shut at the flash of pain that the effort alone triggered in his chest. "Dannny," came to softer whimper.

"Steve?" Danny breathed out.

"Thank God," Steve exhaled slowly in relief. "How are you?" Danny's scrunched up face was self-explanatory. "Yeah, right, stupid question."

Danny cautiously stretched out his jaw but dared not move the rest of his limbs.

"Anything broken?"

"I don't know. I'm afraid to check."

"I'm soooooorry, Danny," Steve drawled out with his eyes blinking heavily. "I couldn't," he licked his lips and swallowed what little saliva he had down his dry throat. "I couldn't stooooop 'emmmm."

"It's not your fault."

"Yes it is," Steve whispered weakly as his head lolled to the side.

"Hey, you okay?" Danny asked worriedly. "Right, stupid question," he echoed Steve's statement. "You stay awake now."

"I - try."

"Say Steve?"

"Yeaaah."

Danny hissed at the sharp pain in his chest. "Did you lead that Caterpillar Operation or – or was Joe your commanding officer on that mission?"

"What – what are you getting at?" Steve said slurrily.

"Just tell – just tell Montez that Joe knows the truth of what really happened." Danny cringed against a sudden throbbing pang in his skull that rendered him momentarily dizzy. He closed his eyes and let the spell pass before continuing, "Wild goose chase or not, at least it's – it's something to bargain with."

"Danny," Steve struggled to keep awake in a sea of pain threatening to drown him. "I'm the one – I'm the one who sent Montez's brother to jail, not Joe. I'm not going to involve him. He needs my – my confession that I shot that man and once he has it, he'll kill us both." Steve took a moment to catch his wind. "Our best gambit is to buy time until - until we can figure out an escaaaaa…" his voice trailed off as exhaustion won.

"Yeah but in the meantime," Danny inhaled deeply causing excruciating pain to his cracked ribs. "in the meantime they're using you as a punching bag."

Steve let out a light chuckle. "Rather – rather it be me than you."

"I knew you'd say that, you bastard."

"Love you too."

"He might just start on me again."

Steve blew out a breath and lazily shook his head. "He won't. Knows – knows you can't stand it. Needs – needs you alive to get – to get me to talk."

"You're human too, babe. You can't take any much more."

At that moment, the huge iron door creaked open and in came one of Montez's ruffians. "McGarrett, got something for you," he teased with a glass of cold water that he held underneath's Steve's chin. "I know you want it."

The prisoner's mouth opened wide, lured by the tantalizing freshness of the precious liquid that his throat was so desperately seeking. Instead of placing the rim of the glass to his lips, the man splashed the water in his face, making him choke. However he could feel a generous soothing gulp going down his burning throat.

"Now that the puppy has had his treat, how about showing me a trick?"

Steve's face shaped into a scowl and he spat in the man's face.

The guard angrily wiped the spit off his face. "You're going to pay for this McGarrett," he seethed. He then pulled a knife from his belt sheath and stabbed Steve in the abdomen.

The SEAL's eyes bulged out as the knife ripped through his skin. Time rolled in slow motion as he felt his bodily functions stopped all at once from the electrical current coursing through his veins. He couldn't breathe, move or even cry out. He opened his mouth but no sound came out.

The man stood inches from his face, holding the blade in his victim's guts. "That was a dreadful mistake. Didn't they teach you not to antagonize your captors? You chose to suffer the slow and agonizing death Montez promised you. Well there it is," he boasted with a visceral disgust as he yanked the knife out of the wound, making Steve yelp out in pain before he collapsed.

He cast a sickened glance at Danny. "What are you looking at? Count yourself lucky I don't do the same to you."

"You sick bastard!" Danny lashed out. His loathing of Steve's aggressor was greater than his own throbbing pain.

Once out the door, Danny turned his attention to his wounded partner. "Steve!" There was no response as Steve's mutilated body dangled from the hook. Danny panicked at the sight of the wound oozing an alarming amount of blood. "Steve, wake up! Please stay with me now." His desperate pleas fell on deaf ears.

**_H50H50H50H50H50H50H50H50H50H50_**

Tannen breezed into Duke's office. "Chief, you were right. McGarrett is connected to the murder trial of Navy Lieutenant José Garcia, Montez's half-brother. He testified that he killed three civilians and a member of his own team as part of a Kill Team on a classified mission. He was court-martialed and sentenced to life imprisonment. He died a few weeks ago of cancer."

"McGarrett was part of that unit," Duke read. "Then we have our motive."

"Looks like it."

"But something doesn't make sense. I mean why not let Steve die in the explosion? Why did he take him and more to the point, why take Danny for that matter? And when he had them, why did he bother blasting a building?"

"I'd say to cover his tracks. Fire destroys evidence."

"That's one answer. I sure would like to get inside that man's head. See if you can obtain a criminal profile from the FBI database."

"Sure. Were you able to get in touch with Commander White?"

"Yeah. He didn't have more information than we already have, but I suspect he's holding something back," Duke implied in a frustrated sigh. "Says he will investigate and let us know if he finds anything. Meanwhile we're wasting precious time they may not have."

Take a look at the rest of the file," Tannen jutted his head toward the folder in Duke's hands. "We interrogated the night watchmen who were on duty the night before, and they all reported three maintenance guys that came to clean the ventilation system. The company is legit. We checked. They are often contracted by the city. However the manager said they had not been asked to do any cleaning job inside the Palace that night. But those workers had a valid authorization." He nodded toward the folder. "Take a look at the signature."

"Governor Denning?"

"Could it be that he was in on it?"

"I hate to think he was," Duke shook his head in denial. "He can't be corrupted like his predecessor. Perhaps he didn't know about the scheme. You said the firm exists and does jobs in the city buildings, which he authorizes?" Tannen nodded affirmatively. "Someone inside that company might be the culprit. I have to give Denning the benefit of the doubt at this point. Nevertheless we'll pay him a little visit. Get two men with you. I want the backup just in case it turns ugly."

"Right away."


	5. Chapter 5

"Come on Steven! Wake up! Don't stay there, pal!" Danny spurred on. He was alarmed by the great amount of blood lost in the past ten minutes. Steve's face had turned a frightening shade of white and his breathing was labored.

His constant pleas were finally rewarded by a faint moan. "Steve! Come back!"

The weighty head lazily shifted from side to side before lifting up and sagging back. Bleary eyes opened at half mast. Steve slowly broke through the mist only to be assaulted by a wave of atrocious pain. He started wheezing in and out frantically.

"Calm down, Steve. Ease up your breathing."

"Try," was all that Steve could utter in a ghostly voice. He suspected that he was going into hypovolemic shock and struggled to keep from going under. "Dannnny."

"Don't talk. Same your strength. I'll get help."

Steve tried to laugh at the ludicrous statement but he couldn't even garner the strength to fashion a smile. As if in a dream, he heard Danny's voice shrouded in a thick haze call for help. He knew it was hopeless but nevertheless kept alert in case Montez would send his dogs to rip his partner to shreds, not that he could prevent the slaughter.

Montez appeared in the cell with his two bodyguards. "What is all the racket in here?" He turned to Steve. "Perhaps you're ready to talk now?" As he neared his prisoner, he noticed the dark spot on the ground . He bent down to get a closer look and realized it was a pool of blood. "What the hell?" he cursed and traced the trail up to the bloody abdomen. "Shit! Who did this?" he fumed, turning to his guards with a dark withering look. They both looked at each other and shrugged.

"It was the blond guy," Danny spoke up. "He came in here and stabbed him."

"Take care of him!" Montez ordered one of the watchdogs. "Wait! Before you do, help R.C. get McGarrett down and onto that cot over there. I don't want him dead yet." The two burly men eased Steve down in their arms, after which they carried him to the cot while Montez kept his gun at the ready in case McGarrett should find some hidden strength to try something."

Although he was free of his bonds, Steve was fully aware that his weakened condition precluded any kind of struggle at this point. He had to play it cool and regain some energy if he were to plan a successful escape.

"Strap him good. I don't trust him," he instructed to his aides who tied Steve's wrists and ankles in leather straps.

"Good, now get rid of Bill."

"Let me take care of him," Danny's request received a skeptical look. "Come on! Where can I go? I need to stop the bleeding or he'll die."

Montez pondered for a moment. "Get him out of his shackles," he ordered his man who did his biding. No sooner had Danny felt the last metal cuff slipped from his wrist that he lunged at his dying partner. "I need gauzes, bandages, antiseptic, the whole medical kit," Danny exhorted as he tore at his sleeve to apply the piece of cloth over the still blood-seeping wound.

Montez snapped his fingers at his guard. "Get him what he needs."

Danny had to exercise formidable restraint not to jump on Montez who was now alone in the cell. But his main priority was to Steve. Injured as they both were, they would not make it far with Montez's bloodhounds on their trail. He couldn't and wouldn't abandon his partner at the mercy of this psycho knowing he wouldn't think twice about letting him die an agonizing death.

"Come on, Steven. Don't conk out on me. I need you awake now," Danny coaxed. He held the makeshift bandage in place while waiting for the medical kit. He hissed as a wave of pain washed over his own ribcage and slapped his free hand over it.

Minutes later, the guard returned with the medical supplies box and handed it over to Montez. He first inspected the content for any scissor or knife that his prisoners could use against him before throwing the first-aid kit onto Steve's stomach, which elicited a cry of pain.

"Jerk!" Danny muttered peevishly as he reached for the box. He rummaged through it and pulled out a bunch of gauzes, bandages and antiseptic.

Montez turned to his yes-man. "Stay here and watch him." The man nodded and took a seat across from the cot as Montez left and shut the door close.

While Danny busied himself disinfecting the wound, he peaked at the guard sitting with his gun cradled in his hand, finger on the trigger, ready to shoot at first sign of defiance on his part.

Steve hissed at Danny's painful ministrations. "Sorry, babe. I don't have a choice. I need to clean that wound."

"S'okay," Steve breathed out. He was struggling to keep from fainting and leave Danny alone with the enemy. "What is holding me down?"

"Leather straps. They have you hands and feet bound to the cot. Now hold still, this might hurt a bit." Again he poured a generous amount of antiseptic onto the wound. Steve gasped in a breath and bit his upper lip to suppress a whimper of pain. Danny then proceeded to apply small gauzes onto the open wound and a thick bandage over it that he held in place with tape.

"Are we alone?" Steve managed to ask in a whisper.

"No. Montez posted one of his men inside." Danny discreetly jutted his head toward the opposite wall while he continued to assess Steve's other injuries.

Steve adjusted his focus in that direction and noticed the semi-automatic weapon in the man's lap."Can you loosen the strap on my right wrist?"

"Too risky. Brutus over there's watching me like a hawk," Danny informed.

"I'll pretend to hurt bad so that you can hold me down. Put your hand on my right wrist and try to work your way through the notches."

"And then what?"

"Then I'll cry out and you'll ask him to come over to hold me down. Once he's close enough I'll grab him into - " Steve winced as a wave of pain washed over him just as Danny checked for broken ribs.

"Sorry," Danny apologized.

After breathing away the twinges, he continued, "I'll grab him into a chokehold and you can knock him over the head with that metal box."

"Oh you have got to be kidding me!" Danny inadvertently exclaimed a bit too loudly. He was appalled by the inane plan.

"Shut up over there!" ordered the guard.

Danny turned to the thug and seethed, "Excuse me but I need to know how intense his pain is so I don't torture him needlessly. Your boss wants him alive so let me do my job, okay?" He turned his attention back to his partner.

"Danny, it's our only way out."

"Babe, you're too weak and busted up to play Superman." Danny continued his ministrations as a diversion to their true topic of conversation.

"Danny please. Just do it, okay?" Steve pleaded with a itching breath.

Danny mulled over Steve's outlandish idea for a moment and then nodded grudgingly. Seconds later Steve began his playacting and howled in pain. Danny did as instructed and held Steve's arms down and began working at loosening the strap, which was no easy task. "It's okay Steven. Breathe in and out slowly. That's it. You're doing fine, babe. Easy now." Danny was also role-playing for the guard's benefit.

Steve peaked at his right wrist and nodded to Danny. "I can manage the rest." Once his wrist was safely out of the band, he cued Danny on to the next scene.

"You sure about that?" Danny mumbled between his teeth.

"Let's do it." Steve inhaled a deep breath and began trashing about.

"Damn it! Hey you over there? Come and help him hold him down. He's having a seizure."

Overwhelmed by what he was witnessing, the man readily jumped to his feet and came to Danny's help in holding Steve down. Before he could take a hold of the wrists, Steve snaked his right arm around the guard's neck and held him down while Danny reached for the medical kit and smashed it hard onto the man's skull, instantly rendering him unconscious on top of Steve.

Danny grabbed a hold of the man's shoulders and slid him off Steve who was struggling to breathe. "Easy there," Danny coached with his hands on his partner's shoulders. "Breathe slowly."

"Danny, get me out of those straps," he rasped out. He labored to ease his breathing down to a normal rate, but the excruciating pain emanating through his battered body made it a difficult task.

Danny assisted him on his feet. "You sure you can do this?"

"I don't have a choice. We must get the hell out of here." He squished his eyes shut as he tried to hold it together and then grabbed a hold of the semi-automatic weapon.

As he wrapped an arm around Steve's waist Danny gasped in horror at the blood-soaked bandage.

"You're bleeding out!"

"No time to dwell on it," he panted, hissing through his teeth. "We must act fast. Get the door open."

Danny banged on the door. "It's me. Let me out. Want to see the boss," he called out in a gruff voice similar to the guard's that they had just knocked out.

Barely had the guard outside opened the door at a crack that Steve thrust the weapon at his chest. "Drop your weapon," he ordered. Stunned, the man did as instructed. "Now move back."

Once he and Danny were out of the cell, Steve ordered the man to step inside. His back to him, he smashed the butt of the gun onto his head to knock him unconscious.

"Lock it," he asked Danny while he leaned against the wall completely spent. By now the full extent of the pain started to crash down upon him.

"You okay?"

"Yes I'm fine," Steve lied. "Now let's go."

They managed to find the exit and once the coast was clear, they took to their heels toward the rain forest ahead with a wounded Steve lagging behind.

**_H50H50H50H50H50H50H50H50H50H50_**

Nearly ten minutes into the run, Steve stopped to lean heavily against a tree to catch his breath. "Danny!"

Danny stopped and seeing Steve pant heavily he rushed over to him. "Let me look."

"Don't!" Steve quickly brushed Danny's hand aside. "You've got to keep moving."

"Hold it right there. We're not going anywhere. You won't make it another yard like this. I need to change you band – oh God," Danny exclaimed in shock upon setting sight on the wound still seeping blood. "Steven, it's bad. I need to stem that hemorrhage or else."

"Danny," he rasped out, sucking in a breath to quell the rising bile. "We're doomed anyway if we stay here. By now Montez must know we've escaped and he's," he hissed through another jolt of pain, "he's gonna unleash his bloodhounds on us."

Danny placed his hand against Steve's forehead. "Don't!" Steve swatted the hand away. "Got to keep moving."

Danny reluctantly took hold of Steve's left arm and lopped it around his neck while he wrapped his other arm around the waist. He cringed as another painful twinge burned in his own chest. "Lean on me. Hopefully we'll reach civilization and get to a phone."

**_H50H50H50H50H50H50H50H50H50H50_**

Later, Duke, his second in command Detective Tannen and two other officers showed up at the governor's mansion.

His assistant greeted them at the door. "Chief Lukela. What can I do for you?"

"We're here to see Governor Denning. Is he in?"

"Yes he is. Please come in," He waved them to enter. "Wait here." The young man made his way to the main office and knocked on the door.

"Come in."

"Sir, Chief Lukela is here to see you."

"Oh good!" Denning stood from his desk and buttoned up his business jacket. "Please send him in."

The assistant walked back to Duke waiting in the parlor. "The Governor will see you now."

Duke addressed Tannen. "You stay here for now. I'll let you know if I need back up in there."

Denning's assistant beckoned Duke to enter the office and closed the door.

"Chief Lukela. No doubt you have news for me on our two men's disappearance?

"In a way. I would like to ask you a few questions first."

Denning raised an eyebrow in suspicion. "Okay?"

"The night before the explosion, we learned that three maintenance men contracted by the city came to clean the ventilation system."

"That's right."

"We have proof that you authorized their entry into the Palace."

"I did."

"Who did you speak to at the company to arrange it?"

"No one. My assistant handled the schedule. I just needed to sign the authorization slip for security clearance into the building. Why?"

"May I speak to him?"

"Sure." Denning rounded the corner of his desk and pressed the intercom. "Thomas, would you get in here?"

Second later, the young assistant entered. "You wanted to see me, sir?"

"Yes. Close the door." The young man did as instructed calmly. "About the professional services that we supposedly hired to clean the vent shafts at the Palace."

"Yes sir," he gulped nervously.

"With whom did you arrange it?"

"With the company, of course."

"Who exactly at the company did you speak with?"

"Someone in the sales department. I can't recall his name."

"We spoke with the manager. He said that no one called him or anyone on his staff for that matter about such a job," Duke said on an accusatory tone.

"Well that's impossible," Thomas defended nervously. At this point it was obvious that he was becoming fidgety.

"Can you get me the name of that person you spoke with?"

"I'm – I'm pretty sure I wrote it down," he stuttered with a nervous facial twitch. "Let me go check."

"Please do."

The man knew he'd been cornered but played it cool in front of the three officers who kept a trained eye on his every move. Thomas pretended to rummage through his notes before retreating in the back room.

When it became obvious that Thomas was stalling for time, Duke joined Tannen in the parlor. "Where is he?"

Tannen who pointed to the outer room. "He went in there."

Duke hurried to the room in question and saw the back door wide open. He rushed back to the parlor. "Get that man! He's our suspect," Duke ordered.

The three officers dashed out the door and took to their heels. They caught up with Thomas within minutes and escorted him back to the mansion.

"All right, out with it," Denning was beyond incensed that one of his trusted employees would turn out to be a traitor.

"He said he was going to kill my daughter if I didn't do what he said," the man snivelled as Officer Tannen slapped the handcuffs on him.

"Who?"

"I don't know. He didn't give his name."

"Why didn't you come to us?" Duke asked. Despite all he felt a certain compassion for the family man whose main concern was his daughter's safety.

"He warned me about going to the police. That he'd know and that my little girl would die."

"Where is she now?"

"She's safe. He kept his word."

"You're lucky he did release her. Did he mention Commander McGarrett or Detective Williams?"

"No. Only said something about getting safely off the island once this was over."

"He couldn't have gotten off. All airports, heliports, airstrips, ports and marinas on the Big Island are on the lookout for them," Duke turned to his second. "Tannen, have you received any report yet?"

"Nothing sir."

"Then they're still in Oahu." he turned to Thomas, "And you, you'd better pray that McGarrett and Williams are alive; otherwise you'll be charged as an accessory to murder."


	6. Chapter 6

By now Steve was slouching heavily, trying not to lean his entire weight on his partner who was struggling against his own injuries. At some point, the overpowering exhaustion became too heavy to bear. His legs gave out and sent Steve collapsing to the ground with a painful shrill. Danny tried to soften his fall but his protesting broken ribs made him lose his grip on his partner.

"Dammit!" he cursed upon seeing the ashen face staring back at him. "We've got to stop."

"You – you go without me." Steve nudged Danny away from him as he tried to sit.

"Yeah, right," Danny mocked. He grabbed Steve by the shoulders and pulled him to rest his head on his lap. "Stay down!" He tore his other sleeve off to make a fresh bandage in order to replace the blood-drenched one causing Steve to hiss in pain. "Sorry."

"Danny, please," Steve begged with ragged breath. "He doesn't want you. You have Grace to think about. Get th – get the hell outta here while you still can."

"I'm not leaving you, Steven and that's that!" Danny sputtered. His own energy was waning fast but he had to keep alert for both their sakes. "Beside we don't even know where we are. We'll find our way," he sucked in a breath, "way out of this mess together."

"Stubborn," Steve said with a ghost of a smile brushing against his lips.

"Yeah, that's – that's what I get from hanging around you for so long."

Steve looked up at Danny with genuine fondness. "I wouldn't have it any other way."

Danny returned the gaze. "Me neither, partner." He then peeked at the wound and winced at the alarming amount of blood still leaking out. "It won't close on its own. It's too deep."

"I've had worse," Steve breathed out and licked his dessicated lips. He tried to salivate to send his constricted dry throat some sort of relief but he only succeeded in painfully scorching it. That triggered a cough following by a strong gagging reflex. Danny quickly turned Steve on his side before the eruption occurred.

Danny recoiled at the sight of blood-laced phlegm. He needed not be a doctor to know that Steve had severe internal bleeding. Although his friend was putting on a brave SEAL front, he knew from personal experience how agonizingly painful that knife wound was. He gently rolled him onto his back with his head still resting in his lap.

"Cold," Steve complained through chattering teeth when he was overcome by uncontrollable shivers.

Despite his own throbbing aches, Danny began rubbing Steve's arms. "How's that?"

"Danny!" Panic seized Steve when he felt his body going into shock.

Danny quickly lifted Steve's up to rest against his shoulder in hopes to ease his breathing. "Stay with me, now. Don't you dare leave me alone out here." Steve struggled for air, his cheeks puffing as his breathing came in increasingly rapid, ragged gasps. His eyes rolled back in his head.

"DON'T!" Danny tapped Steve's face to keep him awake. "Don't faint on me now."

"I'm trying," Steve gulped.

"Breathe slowly. Come on," Danny coached with a soothing hand against his friend's chest. His heart rate was through the roof. Danny ran his other hand across the thick sheen of sweat on the pasty face. He agonized over what to do to help him. He refused to believe that this was the end of the road for him. He had seen worse, right?

"Come on Steve. Hang on! Hang on!" Danny emboldened. It tore at his heart to see his partner in the throes of agony and he almost wished for him to lose consciousness to avoid suffering needlessly, but he knew that if he did there could be irreversible damages.

Suddenly he heard the chilling cock of a gun in his ear. He closed his eyes in defeat at the unmistakable turn of event.

"Did you really think you could get away from me?" Montez spat bitterly with teeth gnashing.

"It was worth the shot," Danny mocked.

Montez came to stand before the two wretched men. "Clearly it was a mistake bringing you along. You've been more trouble than an asset. McGarrett here is trained to resist any kind of torture. He'd rather die a martyr than to spill his guts – in a manner of speaking," he quipped." But I'm surprised he allowed it for you to get a beating though. I was sure you were his Achilles' heel. Maybe he's not ready to take a bullet for you after all."

Danny threw Montez a withering glare before returning his attention to his now unconscious partner lying limp in his arms with his head resting heavily on his sore shoulder.

"What are you going to do now?" Danny closed his eyes in despair and braced himself for the worse.

"You I don't care," Montez snarled before nodding to one of his men to smash the butt of his gun against his skull, which ignited a burning flare inside Danny's brain.

"It's him I want."

Danny's was barely conscious when he heard the sound of a gunshot rent the air. Then silence.

**H50H50H50H50H50H50H50H50H50H50**

It had been raining hard for quite some time when Danny awoke. Aside from a pounding headache he found himself furiously gasping for air from underneath what felt like a dead weight sprawled on top of him.

"Steve?" Panic assaulted him when the memory of that gunshot suddenly sprung to mind. Danny looped his arm around the body of the insentient man and gently rolled out from underneath him. It dropped heavily in a puddle of mud next to him. Danny turned around and heaved a sigh of relief when he identified the corpse as one of Montez's guards.

He teetered to his feet. "St…Steve," he called out with teeth chattering and winced at the hammer in his head. He was shivering from having lain on the cold wet ground for what seemed an eternity. He hugged his trembling body hoping to quell the tremors that intensified with each increasing degree of concern for his partner.

"Steve!" He continued to call out despite his aches and pain. He was seized with a powerful coughing bout followed by retching that set his broken ribs ablaze. He clasped his chest tightly in agony and inhaled small shallow breaths while waiting for the pain to dwindle.

Alone and lost deep in an uncharted part of a rainforest. Danny began searching for his missing partner. He slouched through the muddy ground, trudging along with ever increasing exhaustion and pain as his hopes of finding Steve grew dim.

His body grew numb from the wet clothes clinging to his skin. Finally he collapsed to the ground with a muffled thump. "I'm sorry," he wheezed out before he closed his eyes and allowed the beckoning darkness to engulf him.

**H50H50H50H50H50H50H50H50H50H50**

"Sir! He's waking up," informed the emergency medical technician to Joe White who sat in the co-pilot's seat of the Medevac.

Joe vacated his seat and went to the back of the chopper. He squatted down beside Steve's stretcher. He removed the oxygen mask from his face. "Steve? Can you hear me?" He laid his hand on the sweat-beaded forehead and rubbed his thumb against Steve's brows.

The fever-ridden patient's eyelids fluttered as he struggled to pry his eyes open.

"Come on, Commander. Open those eyes," Joe coerced. "That's it. All the way." He smiled at the vacuous eyes staring curiously at him.

"Joe?" Steve whispered feebly. He felt completely numbed.

"Yeah it's me, son." Steve's eyes rolled back in his head. "No, no! You stay awake," Joe commanded to get Steve's full attention. "That's it. Stay focused now."

The EMT frowned at the worrisome readings on the heart monitor.

"It's over now, Steve. We're on our way to the hospital. You're gonna be all right."

"Dan – Danny?"

"We found him. He's in another Medevac."

"How – how d'you find us?"

"I'll tell you all about it later. The main important thing is that you and Danny were found in time and you're both going to be okay," Joe said with an errant tear in his eye that Steve found somewhat distressing.

"Montez."

"I know, Steve. I know. He's never going to bother you again."

"Dead?"

"Yeah. His van took a tumble down a ditch. He and his men died on impact. You were held in the back and got tossed around pretty badly."

Steve heaved a sigh that triggered a coughing fit. The medical technician gently instructed Joe to turn him on his side to avoid him choking on his own secretions. The cracked ribs posed a problem but the main priority was to keep his neck immobile and therefore, they could not remove the C collar to turn his head to the side. Joe struggled to maintain his composure but couldn't help but wince at the sight of Steve's blood splattered all over his hand.

"That's not good," Joe remarked to himself and shook his head in dejection. He then grabbed a clean towel to wipe the blood off Steve's mouth. "What's that rattling sound?"

"Lungs filling up with fluid from obvious internal bleeding or could be kidney failure. He has some pretty angry bruises in the back and a piece of sharp metal that's still embedded in the flesh. We couldn't get it all out," the medic informed grimly. "If he starts choking I'll need to insert a chest tube before we get to the hospital."

"Is he in any pain?" Joe asked worriedly while taking a peek at the back wound.

"I gave him a dose of morphine. He shouldn't be."

"What's our ETA?"

The young man glanced down at this watch. "About seven minutes. Let's roll him back." He and Joe then gingerly turned Steve back into a supine position.

Steve's eyes glazed over and he started nodding off. "COMMANDER! Stay awake, that's an order."

"I can't," Steve whimpered.

"Yes you can. Remember what I taught you about that pocket of energy. Tapped into those reserves and you'll be fine."

"M'fraid - m'fraid I've used it up already."

"You can't completely deplete it."

"Joe," Steve gasped with drooping eyes. Joe leaned closer to Steve's face. "I – I didn't tell him."

"I know you didn't, kiddo."

Steve flashed a weak smile before his eyes rolled back in his head. A mere second later the instruments started blaring.

"Steve!" Joe chided, "don't let go, son."

"Excuse me." The medic unceremoniously shoved Joe out the way to have room to work at reviving the arrested patient. He first gave an intracardiac injection of epinephrine before he began CPR.

"Come on Steve," Joe silently egged on while watching the medical technician perform chest compressions. "Don't give up now."

**I did plan on writing a part where Joe comes on the scene and finds Steve and Danny but that turned out badly. Instead I just cut to the chase. There will be answers to questions later on.**


	7. Chapter 7

He slowly lifted his heavy eyelids and blinked repeatedly to dispel the haze as his eyes roamed around the unfamiliar room. They finally came to rest on the blurry figure sitting next to his bed watching him.

"Joe?" Danny mumbled weakly. He then took one deep breath that caused him to cringe in pain.

Joe stood and stepped up to the bed. He lowered the rail. "Hey there, Danny. How are you feeling?"

"Rotten," Danny croaked out.

"Well the good news is you don't have pneumonia. You were drenched to the bones when we found you."

"Where – where am I?"

"Honolulu Memorial."

"We're still in Oahu?"

"Yes. Montez couldn't have snuck you out with all the security in place. Every outlet off the island was on high alert."

"You know about Montez?"

"Yeah. Duke contacted me with the information they had so far and I just took it from there."

"Steve? Did you find him?" Danny asked in a heavy breath.

"Yeah we did."

"How – how is he?" Any icy clutch of dread seized him when Joe failed to answer his question. "Joe? How's Steve?" Danny insisted, panting as anxiety grew. "Please tell me he's alive."

"Yeah, he's alive." Danny heaved a sigh of relief and licked his dry lips. "Want some water?" The weary patient nodded. Duke poured a glass and assisted Danny in taking a few sips.

"Steve and me – we were trying to – to escape but they caught up with us." He sucked in a breath, again flinching at the smart caused by his broken ribs.

"Easy there." Joe coached with a hand on Danny's shoulder. "Take your time."

"I woke up and he was gone. I – I searched for him but – too tirrrred," he trailed off from exhaustion.

"It's over now, Danny," Joe soothed while rubbing his hand up and down Danny's arm.

"How – how d'you find us?"

"You had your iPhone on you when they kidnapped you and Steve."

"Yeah but they took it."

"At some point one of Montez's men turned it on and kept the line open so that we could trace your location. I learned he was a mole from the FBI that had infiltrated the gang. I went to Duke with the info and we took it from there. Montez must have discovered his identity for he killed him. We found his body a few feet away from where you'd collapsed."

Danny paused to assimilate the information.

"They tortured him, Joe," Danny wept. Exhaustion prevented any manly self-control and consequently the tears flew freely. "That guy wanted him to confess," he gulped in a breath, "confess to killing a lieutenant part of a unit on an operation called Caterpillar."

"I can imagine. But why did he take you?"

"Thought if they used me as a punching bag Steve would – would crack but – but he didn't." Danny closed his eyes and toiled at keeping his breathing to a steady, rhythmic pace.

"Easy Danny. Easy!" Joe calmed with a hand on the blond's shoulder.

"One of his men shanked him in the belly. He was bleeding out. We tried – we tried to get away but they caught up with us. They knocked – knocked me out cold and when I woke up later, it - it was pouring down and – and Steve was gone." Danny gasped in a few breaths and reached a weak hand out to the commander. "Joe tell – tell me. How is he?"

"I won't lie to you, Danny. He's in bad shape. We found you just as Montez and his men were taking Steve. We chased them and at some point they lost control and the van went barreling off the road and over a ditch. Both Montez and his accomplices died on impact. Steve however was in the back and got bumped around real bad. He arrested once in the Medevac on our way over here and a second time just as they wheeled him into surgery." Danny's eyes brimmed over with another rush of tears. "They must have shocked him back or they would have told me long ago if he hadn't made it." Danny nodded. "Hey, you know Steve? He's one tough S.O.B. I trained him, remember? And you don't call him SuperSEAL for nothing."

"But he's also human, Joe."

"He'll be fine, Danny."

Danny nodded weakly and paused to catch his breath.

"I remember – I remember feeling sick."

"At the Palace?" Danny again nodded. "Yeah, they used hydrochloric acid to render everyone unconscious before they took you both. They found traces of it in the victims' lungs."

"Chin, Kono and Lori. Are they okay?" Danny asked frantically.

"Shuuuuu, calm down." Joe dithered whether he should tell Danny about the carnage, seeing how he had enough of his partner's condition to worry about. "Chin and Kono are here. They - they -" he hemmed and hawed. He was unable to bring himself to tell Danny to truth.

Danny turned to him and furrowed his brows. "What? What is it you're no telling me?" Joe looked away a bit ill-at-ease. "Joe, please. Tell me."

"There was an explosion at the Palace."

"What?"

"Chin and Kono were badly hurt but they're still alive. However Lori - well Lori was killed."

The air rushed out of Danny's lungs at the news. He crushed his eyes together in an attempt to keep his breathing under control to lessen the escalating pain from his broken ribs. "How are they?"

"Chin got off with a concussion, a busted collarbone and broken ribs. They placed Kono in a drug-induced coma to relieve the swelling in her brain. The doctors are optimistic there won't be any permanent damage, though. Aside from that she has a busted arm and leg and a few cracked ribs. Their lungs appear not to have suffered much from the acidic gas."

"Why? Why blow up Five-0 when – when he already had Steve? Doesn – doesn't make sense."

"He didn't want to leave any traces behind and he did a pretty good job of it, except for the security guard who survived and somehow managed to get a glimpse of Montez's face before he conked out. He was a wanted man for having killed seven Navy officers who were jurors on his half-brother's trial. McGarrett was obviously next on his list."

"How did he gain access to our headquarters? Security -"

"The governor's assistant. Montez kidnapped his daughter and threatened to kill her if he didn't cooperate. Says the deal was merely for him to steal classified documents and leave. To conceal his true intentions, Montez told him they couldn't do the job at night because they needed all the laptops. He never mentioned taking you and Steve and much less blasting the place."

"Daughter." Danny closed his eyes at the thought of his own Gracie in the hand of that monster. "Guess he didn't have a choice. How m – how many -"

"There were nine deaths in all. Fortunately it was early in the morning and not all employees were at work at that hour; otherwise the death toll could have been higher. And there are three survivors which are Chin, Kono and the security guard." Joe glanced up at the heart monitor that showed a slight tachycardia. "Okay Danny, I'm going to let you rest now."

"You know about Operation Caterpillar, don't you?"

"Yes. I was the commanding officer in charge of that unit."

"What happened?"

"Unfortunately I can't discuss it with you. It was a top classified mission."

"Joe, please," Danny's plea fell on deaf ears as Joe bluntly veered off topic.

"Danny the important thing for you right now is to get your strength back. Your partner is going to need you, kiddo." Joe gave a half-hearted smile and raised the rail. "You get some rest. I'll go see if Steve's out of surgery. I'll be back later."

**_H50H50H50H50H50H50H50H50H50H50_**

Later that evening, at Danny's insistence, his doctor gave him permission to get out of bed for a short spell after Rachel and Grace came by for a short visit.

He headed down to Steve's room where he sat at his bedside and watched him sleep for a while. The bandage on his nose and the dark bruises on his face and chest were a painful reminder of the hell they went through but thankfully his friend had beaten some of the biggest odds. It would be a long and harsh road to recovery as his doctor explained, but Danny was confident that Steve would win that marathon hands down.

Seeing how Steve didn't stir an inch, Danny stood and grabbed a clean cloth that he dipped into the water-filled basin on the table. He wrung it dry of excess water before dabbing at the fever-ridden forehead, cheeks and neck, taking heed to avoid removing the nasal cannula.

"Hey, can you hear me?" Danny coaxed while continuing his ministrations. "Come on Steve, open your eyes. We're home free, babe. They're taking real good care of you, but now it's up to you to fight the rest of the way. I know you can do it. You've seen worse, right?" a small guttural groan was his answer. Danny's beam lit up the room. "Come on! Rise and shine. You can do it. Come on!"

Steve struggled to pulled apart and raise his leaden eyelids. "Hey there," Danny greeted.

Steve's hazy eyes lazily shifted toward the voice. "Hey," he whispered.

"How are you feeling?"

"Kinda numb."

"It's the good stuff, babe. They have you on heavy pain killers and broad-spectrum antibiotics. They say it's nothing short of a miracle that you pulled through."

"You? Are you okay?"

"Yeah, a few aches and pains and cracked ribs but otherwise I'm just peachy."

An uneasy silence settled over the room that prompted Steve to stare at Danny. "What?"

"What, what?"

"That expression of doom on your face, partner. Something you're not telling me. What is it?"

"We'll talk about it later," Danny equivocated.

"Danny," Steve insisted with furrowed brows. "Don't, please. Tell me everything."

Danny pursed his lips into a thin line at the question for which he dreaded Steve's reaction to the answer. "After Montez kidnapped us, he blew up the Palace."

There was an instantaneous look of horror in Steve's eyes. "What?" The air whooshed out of his lungs that triggered an aching cough.

"Easy there." He waited for Steve to calm his breathing to ease down the coughs before continuing, "Chin and Kono were injured. I visited with Chin earlier and he was conscious and talking. Got a few broken bones and a concussion and his lungs are getting better. Kono however is still being kept in an artificial coma to reduce the swelling in her brain. I was told she's responding well. And Lori," he stopped to inhale deeply, "she was killed in the explosion."

The news hit Steve square in the chest. His face twisted and his throat constricted painfully under the weight of guilt. "It's all my fault."

"Sure. You're the one who set up that bomb, right?" Danny's tone was dripping with sarcasm.

"Montez wanted me, not you."

"Steve, take it easy," Danny tried to appease his overwrought partner with a soothing hand on his heaving bare shoulder, only to withdraw it as if seared by the touch. Concerned, he glanced up at the monitor that indicated a rising core temperature of 103.4.

"I'm sorry he involved you in this."

"We're partners, Steven. For better or for worse, in sickness and in health," Danny added a small jest to lighten the mood. "Besides it was my iPhone that saved us." Steve frowned quizzically. "I had it on me when Montez took us. One of his men kept the line open and that's how they were able to pinpoint our location. Turns out he was on our side and unfortunately he got killed for it. Montez tried to get away with you on board his van, which barreled and crashed at the bottom of a ditch. You were jerked around and that only aggravated your injuries."

Steve began to wince at the sudden painful twinges coming from his back."Looks like the good stuff is wearing off."

Danny reached for the IV drip. "I can give you a bit more."

"No, don't."

"You sure you're okay?"

"You tell me. What's the damage?" Steve asked and braced himself for Danny's description of his injuries.

"Well you've got five broken ribs but luckily none punctured a lung. It was just a graze. Your spine is okay. You're wearing that collar for safety precaution. You're fighting a virulent infection from your belly wound, reason being why you must feel like you're burning in hell." Steve nodded affirmatively to that accurate statement. "The doctors cleaned the waste and repaired the gut as best as they could. Luckily the blade missed your colon altogether. And," Danny faltered. That last part was no easy task.

Seeing Danny hesitated, Steve stared at him worriedly, "What?"


	8. Chapter 8

Again Danny hesitated but Steve insisted. Finally he yielded. "They had to remove your kidneys."

"Both of them?"

Danny hung his head. "Yeah. They were pretty messed us from the beating and that sharp piece of metal that sliced through your back in the accident finished the job. They have you on dialysis while they wait for a donor. I asked to be tested since we're the same blood type. Who knows? I might be a match."

"No Danny, I don't want you to do that."

"Why not?" He waited for Steve to offer an explanation that never came. "Are you afraid you might pick up some of my habits or idiosyncrasies?" Danny ribbed.

"Danny, think about it. A whole kidney? I'm sure you need both of them."

"Without it you could die."

"I can wait for another donor," Steve deadpanned.

"Sure but that could take weeks, months even years. You don't want to rely on that machine forever and besides I expect you'll go nuts having to sit on a chair or lie in bed doing nothing but paperwork. You've got too much energy for that." Steve flashed a weak smile at Danny's argument before his face contorted in pain. "Hey, you okay? Want me to get the nurse?"

"Could you – could you raise the head a bit? I feel a tad dizzy."

Danny obliged. "How's that?"

"Better." Steve heaved out a long-drawn sigh before turning to Danny who was staring at him expectantly. "Why are you staring at me like that?

"You've got that number eight face again, babe."

"And which one is that?"

"The wearing-the-woes-of-the-world-on-his-shoulders face." Steve couldn't help but give a light chuckle at Danny's comment. "You sure you don't want to talk about it?"

"I can't, Danny. It's classified."

There it was again; that word that raised his ire. Danny pursed his lips to refrain from exploding in frustration.

At that moment, the doctor walked into the room with a patient's chart in hand.

"Doctor Russell, do you have the results of the tests?"

"Not all of them but the preliminary results show that you are likely candidate for transplant."

"Yes! You heard that babe? You're going to be okay." Danny jubilated at the news but Steve could only offer a dispassionate smile.

"However we're required to wait until all results are in before we deem you a perfect donor. If so, we'll need you both to regain some strength; otherwise it's likely the transplant will fail and that neither one of you will make it through surgery. Speaking of strength Detective, you shouldn't be on your feet that long."

"I know but I just had to come and see how my friend was doing."

"Well I believe that's enough visiting for now. I'll take you back to your room." Doctor Russell went to Danny and took hold of his arm.

"I'll be back later," Danny told Steve before he allowed the doctor to escort him out of the room.

"Doc, he is gonna be all right, isn't he?"

"We're monitoring his condition very closely. Right now we're a bit concerned about the infection. As you know we did manage to clean the abdominal cavity but the stab wound was deep, plus which he was in septic shock and his kidneys had shut down when he was administered to the hospital. All those factors are working against him."

"But he's strong and healthy as a horse. That ought to help him beat this?"

"It should. We'll see what the next twelve hours bring."

**_H50H50H50H50H50H50H50H50H50H50_**

It was late at night when Steve jolted awake and instantly hissed in pain as his broken ribs were jostled and his back hurt like hell. Joe was keeping a vigil when he suddenly bolted out of his chair to attend to the hyperventilating patient.

"Steve, son. Take it easy. Breathe slowly," Joe instructed calmly while he gently lowered Steve back onto his pillow. He then placed both hands on either side of the ribcage to ease the tension from the heaving chest. "That's it, easy does it."

"Thi – thirsty," Steve rasped out and licked his lips.

Joe reached for the handkerchief with crushed ice that he applied to Steve's lips. "Here, bite into this." Steve began munching on the wet cloth. Joe ran a hand on Steve's clammy forehead and winced at the heat radiating.

"What are you still doing here?" Steve asked with a slight insolence.

"What kind of question is that? I want to make sure you're going to be all right."

"Rather you want to make sure I don't renege my testimony," Steve implied.

Joe was taken aback by the harsh statement. "That was rather blunt."

"But it's true, isn't it?"

"You're thinking of doing it?"

"Joe, I can't bear the guilt anymore."

"Son, it's over. Both Montez and Garcia are dead. There's no need to rehash the past. Believe me it will only make it worse."

"For you or for me?"

"For all concerned. I beg of your Steve, let it go."

"I can't," Steve choked out and sucked in a hissing breath. "I thought I could but what happened with Montez brought it all back. It's crushing me, Joe."

"It's your pangs of conscience talking. Suppress them. You did it once, you can do it again." Joe was a bit on edge and visibly annoyed at Steve's attitude. "Listen, that fever is fogging your mind and obviously not helping see your way clear. All I'm asking is that you wait until you feel better to discuss it." Joe leaned closer to Steve's face and offered this word of caution, "Don't you dare do anything stupid or we'll both regret it."

Steve gulped down the lump stuck in his throat and stared his commanding officer square in the eye. "I can't promise anything."

"I don't want to have to stop you, but I will if I have to."

"You're threatening me?"

"I hope not." He pressed the button to release the medicine through the IV line. "Get some sleep now. You'll feel better in the morning."

On that chilling exchange, Joe calmly walked out of the room, leaving a conscience-stricken Steve in his wake. It wasn't long before his drooping eyelids slid close as the sedative made his way through his veins.

**_H50H50H50H50H50H50H50H50H50H50_**

Danny insisted on keeping a morning vigil on his SuperSEAL friend he was told had had a rough night. Steve's temperature had risen in the course of a few hours and he was now battling a full-fledged raging fever. Doctor Russell had reluctantly acquiesced to Danny's request but only if his patient watched from the bed next his partner's and not in an armchair. However the sound of moaning and whimpering would soon bring Danny to stand by Steve's bed to apply soothing cold compresses on his face and neck.

Later that morning Joe came by for a visit. He stopped short upon seeing Danny standing next to Steve's bed.

"Danny?" Danny turned around to acknowledge his presence. "The doctor told me."

"He's not fighting, Joe," Danny choked out while dabbing at the beads of sweat on Steve's forehead. "Something is bringing him down."

"Give him time. He was brought in with severe injuries. It's just a temporary setback," Joe tried to reassure.

"No it's not," Danny answered bitterly. "It's that Montez thing. I can tell it really shook him up."

"He'll get through this," Joe continued to downplay the circumstances but Danny wouldn't have it. He could see clearly through the deception.

"If you can't help, why don't you get out of here," Danny said icily.

"Danny!" Joe was stunned at the unexpected outburst.

"I mean it, Joe. He was doing fairly before you visited him last night. I don't know what it was you did or said but it was thereafter that he took a turn for the worse."

"And you blame me?" Joe was somewhat insulted by the accusation.

Danny instinctively squeezed Steve's hand to prevent all negative influences in the room from reaching him. "I'm no fool, Joe. Montez wouldn't have gone to this extreme to get a confession out of Steve if there wasn't -" he stopped in mid sentence to rephrase his thought, "Well I just think someone else knows something we don't."

"Danny, don't go there," Joe warned.

"Why not? Afraid I might find out the truth?" Danny challenged.

"You will not like it."

"I'm sure I won't. It has to be big for Steve to give up the fight. It's obvious something is pulling him down and I'll be damned if I'm going to let him fall into that sinkhole. I'll find out what this poison is and get the antidote before it kills him."

"I'm warning you Danny, don't make waves."

"Please, get out of here. He doesn't need you."

Joe didn't insist and left the room quietly. Shortly after an overwhelming flow of emotions engulfed Danny. He sniffed back his tears and wiped his face dry with his hand and continued with the ministrations.


	9. Chapter 9

Two days later, Chin was allowed to leave his bed for short spells. Still with his arm in a sling and a small bandage on his head, he and Danny visited with Kono who was now off the respirator and awake. She suffered no serious brain damage from the subarachnoid hemorrhage; only a spatial-temporal displacement that her doctor assured was temporary.

After visiting with Kono, the two friends headed down to Steve's room where they found his doctor taking his vitals. The good news was that Steve's temperature had decreased considerably, which was a sign that he was beating the infection.

During the last week, Joe stayed away from the hospital, stating urgent business abroad. Danny was all too happy about his departure as he suspected him to have a negative influence on Steve's recovery. Something was amiss between those two and he was determined to get to the heart of things.

**_H50H50H50H50H50H50H50H50H50H50_**

Nearly two weeks later, the two patients were being prepped up for the transplant.

Danny was lying in the bed next to Steve's waiting for the orderlies to take them down to surgery.

"Guess this is it," Danny expressed with a surprisingly composed voice.

"Yeah. There's still time for you to backpedal."

"No way. I'm in this for the long haul."

"Again, I can never thank you enough for what you're doing. In fact there are no words to express how -" the thought trailed off into a sigh.

"Don't mention it. But you can do me one favor though."

"Name it."

Danny shifted position to stare at his partner. "You can tell me about Operation Caterpillar."

Steve closed his eyes and huffed out an annoyed sigh. "Danny, I- "

"I know, I know, it's classified," Danny finished the all-too-familiar speech. "However in this case, you owe me an explanation." Steve glanced at Danny with a puzzled look. "I was beaten because of that top secret mission of yours," this said with a tinge of cynicism as he wanted Steve to feel a bit of repentance to goad him into unburdening himself. "People died, including Lori and Chin and Kono were hurt. I know you said you're sorry to have gotten me involved and I'm well aware it wasn't your fault, but I'm convinced you'll feel better once you get it off your chest."

Steve squished his eyes shut as another wave of remorse washed over him.

"Steven, you can't go in there with that burden on your conscience. It will hurt your chances of pulling through this. You nearly lost the fight with the infection. Purge your demons now. Please, I'm your friend. I want to help you."

"If I say anything - "

"I swear I will go to my grave with it."

Steve inhaled deeply to summon his courage to confide in strict confidence what has been gnawing at him for three years. He trusted Danny implicitly to guard this secret in the deep recesses of his mind. "Montez was right. I'm the one who killed that Lieutenant."

Danny was stunned and yet the bombshell didn't come as a total surprise. "Okay," he exhaled on a composed voice. "You must have had a good reason."

"Rumor had it that there was a member of a Kill Team among our rank. I began to suspect Lieutenant Boyle because of his weird behavior. Boyle, Garcia and I were teamed together and we got cornered by the enemy at some point. We found shelter in an abandoned bunker. I kept my eye trained on Boyle I thought was acting strange. His bearing was off the mark somehow. When the enemy threw nerve gas into the room, I swore I saw Boyle turning the gun on Garcia and me and," the word stuck in his throat for a second, "and I just shot him."

"Steve, you thought he was going to kill you. That was self-defense!" Danny offered as a sound argument.

"No it wasn't! I should have known better. The effect of the gas had clouded my judgment," Steve gnarled between teeth set in fury. "I was so sure that he was a traitor that my mind made him out to be a killer. So I shot first without first questioning my intent."

"What about Garcia?"

"He was already unconscious."

"Was he as innocent as he claimed to be?"

Steve shook his head. "Innocent in the sense that he didn't pull the trigger on Boyle, but he turned out to be part of the Kill Team. He hid it well until we eventually found out that he had killed three civilians. He was later diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. The psychiatrist assigned to his case testified that it was just a matter of time before he turned against his own. I remember him clamouring his innocence on the witness stand and he sincerely believed he hadn't committed those crimes."

"So you used the shrink's diagnosis to your advantage and testified that Garcia shot that Lieutenant under the influence of his illness."

"Yes."

"You withheld the truth because they would have court-martialed you instead of Garcia, right?"

"But it wasn't my idea to do that," Steve defended.

"Let me guess, it was Joe's." Steve closing his eyes was confession enough.

"Said it was better to blame Garcia who was already suffering from PTSD. He could get a lenient sentence if we pronounced him insane than if I'd said it was me who was sound of mind at the time."

"But you said the gas clouded your judgment."

Steve snorted at the puny argument. "It wouldn't have weighed much in court."

"Don't you see if you hadn't stopped him, he might have gone on a murder rampage?"

"Danny, that doesn't excuse the fact that I shot an innocent man in cold blood and accused a friend of having pulled the trigger," Steve scorned with tears pooled in his eyes at the memory of that day.

"Why was Boyle acting strange in the first place?"

"I later find out that his pregnant wife had been admitted to the hospital for complications. She was obviously on his mind but he didn't say anything. His concentration on the task at hand was lost worrying about his wife. She lost the baby when she heard of his death." Steve sniffed back a tear. "I not only killed her husband I killed her baby as well."

Danny felt his own emotions betray him. He draped his arm across his brow and stared at the ceiling. "What do you want to do about it now?" Receiving no answer, he turned to Steve with a concerned look. "You're not actually thinking of turning yourself in, are you? Think about the implications?"

"I am, Danny."

"These people are dead!"

"Yeah but their names will forever be smeared by my false testimony."

"Oh you and your damned pride!"

"You just don't understand."

"You're wrong there, babe. I do understand," Danny demurred. "I once had to testify against my partner Rick and it ripped my guts to shreds."

"That's different, Danny. The man was guilty. There was clear evidence against him."

"Was there?" Danny blurted out, prompting Steve to stare at him with a deep frown.

"You mean, you made this up?"

"I'm not saying I did - well let's just say there were questionable circumstances. When he came back and kidnapped Grace -" Danny shut his eyes and sighed heavily at the painful memory, "like you and Montez it brought it all back. It compelled me to rummage through the old mind files. Still to this day I keep asking myself if I made a gross mistake. I destroyed his life."

Steve felt empathy for his partner but conversely, he couldn't help but wonder if Danny had contrived this story in order to alleviate the weight off his own mind.

"What do you say we get through surgery first?" Danny turned to Steve to gauge his reaction. "Then we'll deal with it."

"Danny it's not your concern."

"How quickly we forget," Danny quipped. "For better or for worse, in sickness and in health. Let no man or enemy put asunder."

Steve let out a chuckle. "And we now pronounce you nutty and nuttier."

"Which one are you?" Danny humoured and and was rewarded with a small curl of the lip. "Deal?"

Steve gave a half-hearted smile. "Deal."

"Good luck partner." Danny put his fist in the air in a victory gesture.

"You too," Steve offered in a timid voice that sent a chill up Danny's spine at the grim thought of his SuperSEAL pal contemplating forfeiting the fight.

"I'll see you when this is over."

Steve nodded but not convincingly enough for Danny.

**_H50H50H50H50H50H50H50H50H50H50_**

Following surgery, the two patients were settled into ICU to closely monitor their vitals. They slept through the night with Steve showing a mild fever that had the doctors concerned about possible rejection.

Mid-morning the next day, Danny's condition was deemed satisfactory enough to transfer him to a regular room.

The blond detective awoke to Chin's smiling face. "Good morning." Danny blinked to focus on the blurry figure leaning over him."Can you hear me?"

Danny nodded weakly and whispered hoarsely, "Yeah."

"Want some water?" Danny nodded. He hissed through gritted teeth at the back pain as he attempted to elbow himself into a sitting position.

"Danny, please don't move. I'll adjust the head bed for you." Chin finished pouring the water into the glass before raising the bed just enough for Danny to drink his water without spills. "Enough?" Danny nodded and laid his head back on the pillow.

Danny squirmed. "Man that hurts."

Chin reached for the IV drip to release a few mg of pain medication. "There, that ought to dull the pain."

Danny exhaled a long sigh of relief as the drug began coursing through his veins. "Yeah it does. Thanks." He turned to Chin who no longer wore the head bandage. "You're looking better," Danny observed foggily.

"I feel better too. Just for this cast," he said motioning to his right arm. "The collarbone is still healing. It's a real nuisance, but I count my blessings."

"What about Kono?"

"She's much better this morning. Her brain is almost back on track and she's already chomping at the bit to get out there on the field. I think she's been hanging around Steve too long."

"Speaking of Steve, how is he?"

"He's still in ICU. The doctors are concerned about his fever. They fear he might be rejecting your kidney."

"No way!" Danny was appalled by the very thought. Notwithstanding his own delicate condition, he flung the covers aside and swung his legs off the bed.

"Danny what are you doing? Get back in that bed!" Chin ordered by pushing against Danny's shoulder with his good hand.

"Chin, I got to go see him," Danny huffed and puffed and winced at the lingering pain that the meds had barely begun to dull. He paused to shake the dizziness away before brushing Chin's hand aside. "Please Chin, help me."

Chin hurried out of the room to hail a nurse down to Danny's room.

"He's trying to get up," Chin explained to the nurse.

"Detective Williams, what are you trying to do? Kill yourself?" she admonished. "You're going to pull out your stitches. Now lie back!" She proceeded to ease Danny down in his bed but the stubborn detective was adamant.

"Please, I need to see Commander McGarrett."

"He's not receiving any visitor at this time."

"I'm no visitor, I'm a damned patient and he needs me!" Danny lashed out, pursing his lips at the painful twinges that his bark triggered. "He needs me to knock some sense into his thick skull."

"You won't help him if you get yourself in worse shape."

"Tell me, how is he?"

"Please Detective Williams, get back in that bed."

"TELL ME DAMMIT!" Danny shouted with tears brimming over in his eyes.

The nurse was hesitant. "He's rejecting the kidney."

The air rushed out of Danny's lungs at the news. "Get me a wheelchair. I need to be with him."

"Detective please," she started to argued.

"GET IT NOW!" Danny was livid, but toned down to adopt a more civilized approach, "Please. I beg of you."

The nurse nodded reluctantly and stepped out of the room momentarily to fetch a wheelchair. Both she and Chin assisted Danny in the chair, taking care to hang the IV drip to the pole before wheeling him down to ICU.

Doctor Russell was standing by Steve's bed taking the vitals when he saw the nurse push Danny in. "Nurse Higgins, what's that patient doing here?" he asked harshly.

"I couldn't hold him down. He insisted on seeing his partner."

"Please, I don't want to argue with you as well, Doctor Russell. I'm here to stay," Danny said resolutely, thus leaving no room for argument.

"I'll take him," Russell said to the nurse who nodded and left the room. Russell wheeled Danny closer to the bed and locked the brakes on the chair.

"Is it true that he's rejecting the kidney?" Danny ventured to ask as he gazed at his fever-ridden partner.

"We've increased the dose of anti-rejection medication but if that doesn't work, we'll need to remove it."

Danny squished his eyes shut and swallowed the emotional lump caught down his throat. "Can I be alone with him?"

"Sure. If you need anything, just press the call button."

Once the doctor was out of the room, Danny heaved himself out of the chair with a painful hiss to come stand by Steve's bed. He was a little shaky on his legs but he managed to tame the throbbing in his back to get a view at Steve's gaunt features.

"What in the hell are you doing, huh?" Danny scolded. He prepared to rake a certain SEAL over the coals. "You're throwing away a perfectly healthy kidney, MY kidney! It's not good enough for you, babe? Do you have any idea how insulting that is?" Danny was beside himself with anger and fear. He took a moment to regain his poise before continuing his tongue-lashing.

"So you're just giving up, is that it?" the constant beating of the heart monitor was his only answer. "I thought we had a deal? Forget about them, Steven. They're dead but we're still alive. WE, your friends. How about you considering what your death will do to us? To Little Gracie?" Danny was coming apart at the seams at the prospect of having to break the news of Uncle Steve's death to his little monkey.

Danny leaned closer to Steve's face, wincing at the spasm in his back, and gave vent to his anger, "Fight this! You hear me? FIGHT! You're no coward." The sight of Steve lying motionless fueled his rage. "Okay, you decide to check out, fine! You'll force me to find another job because forget about me staying on at Five-0, no siree!" Those crushing words sliced through Danny but he kept pounding at Steve hoping they would sink in somehow. "I'll find myself another partner, one that doesn't take the coward way out."

But he just couldn't go on with the empty threat anymore. He buried his head in his hands and wept. "Dammit Steven! Please, don't leave us." He placed a hand on Steve's shoulder. "I love you, you big goof."


	10. Chapter 10

**I have to apologize for not updating sooner. My husband has had an accident at work and, needless to say, I hadn't had the time nor was I in the mood to read or write anything. He is doing better but will be on sick leave for quite a while. Your overwhelming responses to my last chapter really did cheer me up and I am so grateful.**

**Anyhow here's the next chapter.**

* * *

In early afternoon Danny had dozed off by Steve's bed, head on the mattress with his hand resting on his partner's when Doctor Russell shook him awake.

"Detective?"

"What?" Danny jolted awake. His sight quickly rested on Steve.

"I think you'd be more comfortable in your bed."

"I told you I'm not leaving," Danny rebuked as he pinched the bridge of his nose to clear the fog.

"Your back hurts, doesn't it?" the doctor deduced from Danny shifting uncomfortably in his chair.

"It's fine," Danny assured, albeit unsuccessfully. "Guess I must have dozed off when I was trying to knock some sense into his head."

"Well whatever you said to him seems to have paid off."

"What do you mean?"

The doctor smiled. "His temperature is coming down. His system now appears to be accepting the kidney."

"So he's gonna be all right?" Danny exulted.

"He's not out of the woods yet. He still has some hurdles to overcome but I say he's on the right path. I assume all he needed was a little nudge and it appears you gave it to him. He may have been down before but he's back in the ring, fighting, and that's a good sign. Now how about I take you back to your room so you can rest?"

Danny nodded and sniffed back a tear as he squeezed his partner's hand. "You keep those boxer's gloves on, you crazy Neanderthal," Danny uttered in the most affectionate way. "I'll be back later."

**_H50H50H50H50H50H50H50H50H50H50_**

Two days later, Rachel and Grace came to visit with Danny who, aside from a little tenderness lurking in his back, was feeling in top shape.

"Does it still hurt, Danno?" Grace asked in the gentlest way.

"A bit but it's a good pain."

"Because you saved Uncle Steve's life?"

"That's right, honey. Your Uncle Steve is alive today because of your dad's kidney," Rachel said proudly.

"Does this mean you and Uncle Steve are brothers now?"

Danny glanced up at Rachel. They were both amused by the little girl's remark, which wasn't far from the truth, sentimentally speaking. "Guess you could say we're blood brothers."

Doctor Russell was looming under the doorway dithering as to whether he should interrupt the heart-warming family gathering.

"I'm sorry to disturb you folks, but someone is asking to see Detective Williams."

"Steve?" Danny hoped.

Russell nodded. "He's awake."

"You go, Danny. We'll wait for you here," Rachel told Danny who could hardly contain his elation.

"Can I go too, Danno? I want to see Uncle Steve," Grace beseeched with a doe-eyed gaze that never failed to melt her father's heart.

"I'm sorry little girl. Only one visitor at the time," the doctor said, thus dampening her enthusiasm.

"I'll tell you what, Monkey. I'll ask Uncle Steve if he feels strong enough to have a second visitor." Danny looked up at Russell to shore up support "Really Doctor, once he sees my daughter he'll be up and around in no time flat. She works miracle with him."

"Well okay. I'll allow it if Commander McGarrett feels up to it, but not for long."

"Thank you." Danny teetered to his feet and took a few seconds to steady his balance.

"I think it'd be a good idea to take the wheelchair," Russell suggested.

Danny shook his head. "I need the exercise."

"That might be a bit too soon."

"I'll sit in a chair by Steve's bed if I feel my legs buckle."

Both Rachel and the doctor followed Danny to the door in case he would require assistance. Once he gained a steady gait, Danny waved them off and walked down to Steve's room.

He entered and padded up to the bed where he hovered over his partner, who lay with his eyes closed. It wasn't long before Steve sensed Danny's presence and his eyes fluttered open.

"Hey there, partner," Danny greeted cheerily.

Steve blinked and smiled groggily. "Hey. You okay?"

"Still a bit tender in the back but the pain is well worth it. It's nice to see you awake."

"It was all I could do to stop you from yelling at me."

"Oh you heard that, huh?"

"I wanted to tell you to shut up but I was too damned tired."

"Well it certainly paid off."

"You know, it could have gone the other way," Steve argued playfully.

Danny lowered the bed rail. "No way. You love me too much for that, don't you babe?"

"Let me get rid of that headache first and then I'll tell you what I think."

"Promises, promises!" Danny chuckled at Steve's comment and then turned solemn. "I'm sorry but I freaked out when the doctor told me you were rejecting the kidney. So yes, I yelled at you for taking the coward way out." Steve's sorrowful eyes fastened on Danny's bleary blues. "You sc – you scared the hell out of me," he stuttered, his voice choking with emotions. "You know this kidney is non returnable."

Steve offered a faint smile. "I'm sorry."

"You should be," Danny sniffed back the errant tear.

"For everything."

"Now that's pushing it too far." Danny hung his head to allow a lull in the conversation before broaching the delicate topic still raw on their minds. "So? Have you made a decision?"

Steve sighed and avoided Danny's inquisitive stare.

"I see that you need another powerful incentive."

"What have you got in mind now?"

"Wait here." Danny momentarily stepped out of the room to get Grace.

"Yeah, like I have a choice," Steve scoffed.

"There he is!" Steve felt ill-at-ease at the sight of Grace. He wasn't prepared for her to see him like this.

"Uncle Steve!" she cried gleefully.

Steve threw a glancing scowl at Danny before greeting the little girl. "Hey sweetheart, come here," Steve held out his arms to receive a hug.

Unsure, Grace looked up at her father to get his consent "Go ahead, but gently." Grace stepped on the small stool and snaked her arms around Steve, careful not to tighten the clench for fear of hurting him.

"Does your back hurt like Danno's?"

"It does a bit, but the doctor says it will wear off after a couple of days."

"I'm glad than we can go to the beach and swim in the ocean."

"That might be a while, Monkey," her Danno said. He had hoped that Steve would argue but he felt a twinge in his guts when his partner offered but only a half-hearted smile.

Steve wincing was cue to cut the visit short. "Gracie, I think your Uncle Steve needs his rest now."

"Okay. Hope you feel better, Uncle Steve." Again Steve flashed a listless smile.

Danny jabbed his finger at Grace's disappearing back, "And that, babe, is one good reason why you should drop this foolishness."

"That was devious of you, Danny."

"Yeah but I'm sure it worked?"

"Maybe," Steve mumbled.

Danny snorted. "You do this and it will be the end of your military career and your work at Five-0, among others. Do you really want that?" Steve turned his head sideways and remained silent. "Right, okay I can see you need to mull this over a bit more. So I'm going to leave you alone with your thoughts and – well I'm just down the hall if you need to talk."

"Thanks Danny. I appreciate everything you did, really, I do."

"Think nothing of it, babe."


	11. Chapter 11

_**We've come to the end of another journey. I am utterly grateful to my followers for nourishing my passion for writing.**_

_**H50H50H50H50H50H50H50H50**_

It wasn't long after Steve regained his strength that the two partners were giving their leave from the hospital. Routine check-ups were mandatory to ensure that no complications from the transplant would arise.

Chin was also discharged from the hospital, but Kono had to remain a few more days. Although Chin was given the green light to return to work, Danny and Steve however were still forbidden to tackle field work.

Steve took a short leave of absence to fly to Seattle, Washington, where Lieutenant Boyle's widow resided. He found her living with her older sister. The woman gave Steve a hero's welcome by throwing herself into his arms, remembering how fond her husband was of him.

Steve felt awkward and downright embarrassed by the show of affection, which he thought he didn't deserve. He couldn't bring himself to stare her straight in the eyes when they reminisced about her husband's work in the Navy and how he idolized Steve.

That trip down memory lane ripped Steve's heart to shreds. He couldn't bear hearing her sing his praises. He had to leave before he would crack and break his promise to Danny.

As he crossed the threshold of the front door, he turned to the woman and vowed to make himself available for anything that she might need. She couldn't understand the reason behind this sudden solicitude but didn't question his intentions and accepted with gratitude.

"Thank you, Commander. Now I see why Harry was very fond of you. You truly are a good friend."

Those kind words sliced through Steve and send his emotions spiraling out of control. He left the premises before he lost it completely.

_**H50H50H50H50H50H50H50H50H50H50**_

The morning after landing in Hawaii, Steve went straight to HPD where a special section was set aside to accommodate the Five-0 team temporary while the Palace was being rebuilt. He locked himself in his office and buried himself under paperwork.

Danny showed up a few hours later. Today was Kono's first day on the job after leaving the hospital.

"Hey guys! Kono, nice to see you up and about. How are you?"

"Fit as a fiddle," Kono said with a tinge of relief. "I'm thankful to be alive."

"Yeah, we all are. It was touch and go there for a while but that stubbornness paid off. Looking at you now you'd hardly think you were in a coma three months ago."

Chin wrapped a brotherly arm around his cousin and said proudly. "She is something."

Danny turned to the glass-windowed office behind which Steve was seen working at his desk.

"I see that Steve's back from his trip."

"Yeah. He was there this morning when we came in," Chin said.

"He didn't call me to come and pick him at the airport or anything." He jutted his head toward his partner and asked with concern, "How is he doing this morning?"

"I don't know what happened on his trip to Seattle, but he's been sort of down in mouth."

"I thought perhaps that visit would get that load off his shoulders but apparently it didn't."

"What load?" Chin queried.

"It's complicated. I'll be right back." Danny made his way to the office and knocked on the closed door.

"Come in!" As Danny walked up to the desk, Steve quickly closed the folder that he was perusing. "Hey Danny!"

"Say babe why didn't you call when you got back in town? I would have picked you up."

"I didn't want to disturb you. I took a cab."

"Are you okay?" Danny asked as he picked up on his partner's morose expression.

"I will be. I saw Boyle's wife and she treated me like a hero, can you imagine?"

"Yes I can because you are."

Steve shoved his chair back and stood. "Come on, Danny!"

"I see there's no getting through to you."

"If roles had been reversed, would you have swept it under the rug so easily?"

"I did with Rick."

"Danny, you didn't kill him."

Danny felt this conversation was sinking into quicksand and before it went too deep, he veered off subject."

"The governor called while you were away. Since Kono, you and I aren't cleared for field work yet, he's giving us another two-week sick leave. So I thought why not take this opportunity to go to New Jersey for a few days? We could drop by my folks and I'll introduce you. I'm sure they'd like that."

"Thanks Danny but I don't think so."

"Come on, it'll be fun. We need to get away from this island."

"What's wrong with it now?" Steve was exasperated at Danny's constant bashing of Hawaii.

"Aside from my usual jeremiad, just recently the little horrific episode we went through. We need to put some distance between it and us for a while."

"New Jersey, huh?" Steve was beginning to show some interest.

"That's right."

"Isn't it the middle of winter over there?" Steve asked.

"Yeah."

"Well there must be snow?"

"I can't teach you how to ski without snow."

"Oh no. You won't get me on those," Steve griped.

"Skiing is just like surfing, babe."

"Snow doesn't behave like water."

"What's the matter? Afraid you might like it?" Danny teased with a smug.

Seconds elapsed before Steve conceded, "All right I'll go. But I don't have to enjoy it."

"Duly noted," Danny quipped. "It'll do us both a lot of good after what happened."

"Do your folks know about the transplant?"

"Not yet but I intend to tell them once we get there." Danny slanted his head to read his partner's expression. "What's wrong? You feel sick or something?"

"No it's not that, it's just -." Steve was at a lost for word. He sucked in a deep breath to prevent his emotions from spilling and out of the blue, he clenched Danny into a brotherly hug.

"Steven you're scaring me." Danny pulled back and stared dubiously at his emotional partner. "I've never seen you like this before. Something you're not telling me. What is it?"

"I've made a decision."

"And," Danny gulped nervously in dreaded anticipation of Steve's answer.

"I won't turn myself in." Danny's eyes dropped in utter relief. "It might haunt me for the rest of my life, but I need to get past it and focus on the job ahead."

"That's a sound decision."

"I'm still afraid of a repeat though. If it happened once it might occur again and this time with - ," he couldn't bring himself to finishing the sentence. He merely stared at Danny who quickly read his partner's grim thought.

"With me?"

Steve nodded. "Let's face it, I'm a ticking bomb. You tell me all the time."

"That's who you are and even though it often scares the hell out of me, I wouldn't change you for the world. You're our crazy Neanderthal and we love you just the way you are."

Steven fashioned a grateful smile. "Thanks Danno."

"Besides didn't you say that this kidney of mine was making you act like a normal human being?"

"Normal is not the term I used," Steve teased back.

Danny just smirked.

Steve tapped Danny on the shoulder. "Come on, I'm hungry. Let's go to lunch."

To Kono and Chin, he offered, "Say, how about you two join Danny and me for lunch? My treat."

"Well if you put it kindly like that, who are we to refuse?" Chin said glancing at Kono who nodded in agreement. Both were visibly stunned and yet happy to see a change in their leader's demeanour.

"What do you feel like eating?" Danny asked Steve.

"How about a large pepperoni pizza?"

"Sounds good."

"Hey wait, what did I just say?" Steve stopped dead in his track.

"You said you wanted a pepperoni pizza."

"That's right. But that's not my favorite topping."

"No it's mine," Danny said pursing his lips to refrain from chuckling.

"Oh my God, it's really happening."

"What? What's the matter?" Kono asked a bit baffled by Steve's horrified expression.

"He thinks now that he has my kidney that he's actually turning into me," Danny couldn't help but laugh. "The first week after he got out of the hospital he didn't go near the water and get this, he got up AFTER 5:30am, can you believe it?" He turned to Steve still bewildered and gave him a friendly pat on the back. "Congratulations! You are getting to be a normal human being, whatever term you want to use."

"No it can't be, "Steve shook his head in denial. "It's just temporary insanity. A reaction to all the meds I've been taking. Yeah that's it."

"Sure, let's call it that," Danny humoured and winked to Chin and Kono who were laboring to keep from laughing."Come on, I'll buy you a pineapple and ham pizza. I'm sure you'll see that you're still the deranged freak that we've come to love."

THE END


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